The FReeper Foxhole Enjoys a Lazy Sunday and Reviews Civil War Regimental Colors - Nov. 21st, 2004

http://www.nps.gov/mana/education/Rally%20Around%20the%20Flag.pdf ^

[snippy_about_it]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.


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Regimental Colors
During the Civil War



Very few things were as important to the Civil War soldier as his regiment. Regiments were organized in different ways and around a variety of themes. Geographically, regiments came out of city neighborhoods, congressional districts, counties, regions and other areas. There was a “teacher’s regiment,” a “lead miners regiment,” ethnic regiments and regiments recruited around a core of volunteer firemen. The regiment was the centre of the soldier’s life; he identified with it.



In turn, the soldier identified himself with the regiment’s flag, or colors. The ideals and honor of the regiment were embodied within and represented by the regimental flag. The flag was the symbol of the regiment. When a regiment was being mustered in a particular town, it was often the women of the area who would join together and make the unit’s colors. The completed flag would then be presented to the regiment during an elaborate ceremony, often attended by hundreds of people.


The inscription reads: God Help the Right 140th Regt. New York S.V.


The inscription reads: Presented by 34 Young Ladies of Rochester N.Y. to the Monroe Co. Regt.

To the homesick soldier, who was far from home and engaged in the most terrifying episode of his life, those regimental colors were a concrete reminder of their mothers, wives, and sisters who had helped make the flag. A Georgia captain’s response to the women who had just presented him with his unit’s flag in 1861 is typical of the feelings of most soldiers:



“Those tri-colors are emblematical of your . . . fair cheeks, and your blue eyes; in the future when we look up at those glorious stars . . . whose radiance will guide us to victory and fame, we will fondly remember the loved ones at home.”



To help build a sense of esprit de corps, the regimental colors were also designed to set the unit apart from others and, often times, to proudly display the unique characteristics of the regiment. For example, the 69th New York Infantry regiment was recruited in New York City from a very strong Irish community. Their regimental colors were illustrated with pictures of shamrocks and a Celtic harp on a green background, reminders of their Irish heritage. Another New York regiment, the 11th New York, had been recruited from firemen of New York City. Their colors contained the tools of their trade: a fireman’s helmet, ladder, hoses, and axe all appear on their regimental colors.



Once on the battlefield, the colors had the added importance of guiding the troops in the field. With scores of regiments and thousands of men often involved in the chaos and confusion of combat, the flags served as a way of keeping the various units together. A soldier who might become separated from his regiment could look for the unit’s colors to be reunited with his regiment. The colors were carried by a soldier known as the color bearer. He would be charged with carrying the flag and keeping it aloft for all to follow. While the color bearer was a position of great prestige, it was also one of the most dangerous assignments of the regiment.

Recognizing the importance of the flag for direction and morale, the enemy often targeted color bearers when battle commenced. In the early months of the war, however, many of the young, naive soldiers disregarded the danger and eagerly sought the honor of carrying the colors in battle.



A young color bearer prior to the First Battle of Manassas wrote home:

“I have a position just under the flag and woe be to the Yankee who tries to take it from [me] for we’ve sworn to preserve it, or perish beneath its folds. What a glorious death!”

Accordingly, once on the battlefield, these soldiers would go to great lengths to ensure that the colors were protected. If a color bearer were shot (as was often the case), another man would pick up the flag and carry it, continuing to hold it aloft for all to see. A Union soldier could be awarded the Medal of Honor for capturing a Confederate flag, or going to great lengths to ensure that his own banner was not lost.

Because a regiment’s flag was a source of immense pride and because such steps were taken to protect it, the colors also played a prominent role in the disciplining of troops. For troops who had misbehaved, or performed poorly, a serious blow could be dealt to the unit’s pride by stripping them of their flags. The hope was that, in order to have their colors returned, the men would work that much harder to prove they were worthy of the banners.



Shortly after the First Battle of Manassas, the 79th New York Infantry mutinied when they were denied a furlough that would have allowed them to return home for a visit with their families. To teach the men a lesson after the mutiny was put down, General George B. McClellan ordered “the regiment will be deprived of its colors, which will not be returned to it until its members have shown by their conduct in camp, that they have learned the first duty of soldiers - obedience - and have proven upon the field of battle that they are not wanting in courage.” Of this punishment, one of the New Yorkers wrote, “you have seen in the papers the punishment awarded to the Regiment - the taking of our colors and the disgrace from which we are suffering.”

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FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks feather. Wait until you see it all finished, I think you'll really like it. Sam did a good job on the trim.

[PhilDragoo]

My older wiser brother went from Westinghouse on his own. When I went on my own he said, "Making money hand over fist, doing what you love, wondering what took you so long."

American Dream dittos.

[snippy_about_it]

in the 3rd photo there appears to be a suspicious looking person walikng away.

With his camo field jacket on he's about to disappear into the trees! He's too sly for the coppers. LOL.

I don't see a coffee pot. This strikes me as vaguely unamerican!

Well we can't be accused of that. The coffee pot, microwave and fridge are on the wall opposite the office desk. I'll take a picture tomorrow for proof. ;-)

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks Phil. We've certainly discussed how it would have been a wise move when we were younger but you always think you have tomorrow and never seem to have any money.

We still don't have any money but we think we are wiser and what the heck, like you say, it is the American dream.

We don't expect to make money hand over fist, but we'll be happy to keep roofs over our heads.

[Valin]

I seem to recall that Wilmer McLean had a farm on Bull Run cheek, and after the battle he moved to get away from the war.

[snippy_about_it]

Wilmer McLean stood on the front porch of his two-story brick house awaiting the arrival of General Robert E Lee. In the early afternoon on that day, General Lee, accompanied by Colonel Charles Marshall, arrived on horseback. Wil extended his greetings to the two Confederate officers and invited them into his parlor. And there, on April 9, 1865, they awaited the arrival of the other guests.

At about 1:30pm, a group of Union officers arrived on horseback. Among those were Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, Major General P. H. Sheridan, Major General E. O. C. Ord, Major General Wesley Merritt, Major General George Armstrong Custer, and Captain Robert Todd Lincoln, son of President Abraham Lincoln.


General Grant and several of the Union officers entered the parlor where General Lee was waiting. For the next hour and a half, General Lee and General Grant discussed and came to agreement on the terms of surrender of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, which, for all practical purposes, ended the long, bloody war.


And, while Lee and Grant were conferring, Wil McLean waited outside the house where, I can only surmise, he must have thought about the hand of fate that brought this event to his home at Appomattox Court House.


Wil, a retired Major in the Virginia militia, was too old to be conscripted when that un-civil war began. For the majority of the duration of the war, he was a merchant primarily dealing in the buying and selling of sugar. But, at the outset of the war in 1861, he was a farmer living in northern Virginia with his family.


The war had struck close to home early on, so, concerned for the safety of his family, Wil and his family moved from the war zone in northern Virginia to central Virginia and eventually bought a home at Appomattox Court House. And just how close to his northern Virginia home had the war come? Well, you see, the first battle of the war, the First Battle of Manassas, also known by northerners as the First Battle of Bull Run, fought on July 21, 1861, took place on Wil McLean’s farm.


So, in a most unusual twist of fate, the War Between the States started in Wil McLean’s back yard in 1861 and ended in his parlor in 1865.



Copyright November 2002 by Simone J. Pace

[SAMWolf]

Thanks Phil. We're gonna give it the good old American try. :-)

[SAMWolf]

Cool! That brings back some memories. :-)

[SAMWolf]

Give us a chance we're just getting started. ;-)

[SAMWolf]

Evening w_over_w. Lot of work and we're learning as we go. Opened Quickbooks yesterday and boy is that intimidating, I haven't tried any accounting sincethe mid 70's. I'm a lot better at the PO system, wrote a few of those in my younger days.

[E.G.C.]

BTT!!!!!!

[Professional Engineer]

The 50,000 quart silo is the 95 recycle bin we have to figure what the heck to do with. We had nice little bins that were picked up every week since I've lived in this town.

Now, without notice (that I recall) we have this large blue monstrosity, along with the large gray/brown monstrosity. Unlike the other 998 households in the neighborhood, I refuse to just let the things sit on the driveway, or on the grass, or in the backyard, so I've made concrete pads for them.

[snippy_about_it]

Now that looks good. Lots of money!

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks. They have those things here in Oregon. Back home we just put the bags out or use our own store bought Rubbermaid cans. Sheesh. Recycle - bah humbug. The media followed our trucks in Ohio and they were dumping the recycle bin stuff in the same hole as the trash.